Frank Esser is Assistant Professor in the Institut fuer Publizistik at the University of Mainz, Germany. His research centers around cross-national studies of journalism and political communication. He has written articles for various journals, including the European Journal of Communications and the Harvard International Journal of Press Politics. Barbara Pfetsch is Professor of Communication and Media Policy at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. She was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at the Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University. Her research interests focus on comparative analyses of political communication and the mediated public sphere.

'This thought-provoking collection of essays not only reminds us of the richness and diversity of research in comparative political communication but it is also a convincing argument for continuing to develop such work. But the volume contains a challenge: how does one undertake comparative political communication research in the era of globalization? This is a timely intervention in such debates and should be read by everyone interested in political communication.' Ralph M. Negrine, University of Leicester

• 1. Introduction Barbara Pfetsch and Frank Esser; Part I. Theories and Methods: 2. Americanization, globalization, and secularization: understanding the convergence of media systems and political communication Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini; 3. Transnational trends in political communication: conventional views and new realities David L. Swanson; 4. Comparing mass communication systems: media formats, media contents, and media processes Hans J. Kleinsteuber; 5. Designs and methods of comparative political communication research Werner Wirth and Steffen Kolb; Part II. Cases: 6. Global political communication: good governance, human development and mass communication Pippa Norris; 7. Local political communication: media and local publics in the age of globalization Sabine Lang; 8. Strategic political communication: mobilizing public opinion in 'audience democracies' Hanspeter Kriesi; 9. Political campaign communication: conditional convergence of modern media elections Christina Holtz-Bacha; 10. Political communication and electronic democracy: American exceptionalism or global trend? Thomas Zittel; 11. Political news journalists: partisanship, professionalism, and political roles in five countries Wolfgang Donsbach and Thomas Patterson; 12. Political communication messages: pictures of our world on international television news Patrick Rössler; 13. Political communication effects: the impact of mass media and interpersonal conversations on voting Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck; Part III. Perspectives and Challenges: 14. State of the art in comparative political communication research: poised for maturity? Michael Gurevitch and Jay G. Blumler; 15. From political culture to political communications culture: a theoretical approach to comparative analysis Barbara Pfetsch; 16. Problems of comparative political communication research: culture as a key variable Robert L. Stevenson; 17. Meeting the challenges of global communication and political integration: the significance of comparative research in a changing world Frank Esser and Barbara Pfetsch.

Frank Esser is Assistant Professor in the Institut fuer Publizistik at the University of Mainz, Germany. His research centers around cross-national studies of journalism and political communication. He has written articles for various journals, including the European Journal of Communications and the Harvard International Journal of Press Politics. Barbara Pfetsch is Professor of Communication and Media Policy at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. She was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at the Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University. Her research interests focus on comparative analyses of political communication and the mediated public sphere.

'This thought-provoking collection of essays not only reminds us of the richness and diversity of research in comparative political communication but it is also a convincing argument for continuing to develop such work. But the volume contains a challenge: how does one undertake comparative political communication research in the era of globalization? This is a timely intervention in such debates and should be read by everyone interested in political communication.' Ralph M. Negrine, University of Leicester

• 1. Introduction Barbara Pfetsch and Frank Esser; Part I. Theories and Methods: 2. Americanization, globalization, and secularization: understanding the convergence of media systems and political communication Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini; 3. Transnational trends in political communication: conventional views and new realities David L. Swanson; 4. Comparing mass communication systems: media formats, media contents, and media processes Hans J. Kleinsteuber; 5. Designs and methods of comparative political communication research Werner Wirth and Steffen Kolb; Part II. Cases: 6. Global political communication: good governance, human development and mass communication Pippa Norris; 7. Local political communication: media and local publics in the age of globalization Sabine Lang; 8. Strategic political communication: mobilizing public opinion in 'audience democracies' Hanspeter Kriesi; 9. Political campaign communication: conditional convergence of modern media elections Christina Holtz-Bacha; 10. Political communication and electronic democracy: American exceptionalism or global trend? Thomas Zittel; 11. Political news journalists: partisanship, professionalism, and political roles in five countries Wolfgang Donsbach and Thomas Patterson; 12. Political communication messages: pictures of our world on international television news Patrick Rössler; 13. Political communication effects: the impact of mass media and interpersonal conversations on voting Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck; Part III. Perspectives and Challenges: 14. State of the art in comparative political communication research: poised for maturity? Michael Gurevitch and Jay G. Blumler; 15. From political culture to political communications culture: a theoretical approach to comparative analysis Barbara Pfetsch; 16. Problems of comparative political communication research: culture as a key variable Robert L. Stevenson; 17. Meeting the challenges of global communication and political integration: the significance of comparative research in a changing world Frank Esser and Barbara Pfetsch.

Frank Esser is Assistant Professor in the Institut fuer Publizistik at the University of Mainz, Germany. His research centers around cross-national studies of journalism and political communication. He has written articles for various journals, including the European Journal of Communications and the Harvard International Journal of Press Politics. Barbara Pfetsch is Professor of Communication and Media Policy at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. She was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at the Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University. Her research interests focus on comparative analyses of political communication and the mediated public sphere.

'This thought-provoking collection of essays not only reminds us of the richness and diversity of research in comparative political communication but it is also a convincing argument for continuing to develop such work. But the volume contains a challenge: how does one undertake comparative political communication research in the era of globalization? This is a timely intervention in such debates and should be read by everyone interested in political communication.' Ralph M. Negrine, University of Leicester

• 1. Introduction Barbara Pfetsch and Frank Esser; Part I. Theories and Methods: 2. Americanization, globalization, and secularization: understanding the convergence of media systems and political communication Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini; 3. Transnational trends in political communication: conventional views and new realities David L. Swanson; 4. Comparing mass communication systems: media formats, media contents, and media processes Hans J. Kleinsteuber; 5. Designs and methods of comparative political communication research Werner Wirth and Steffen Kolb; Part II. Cases: 6. Global political communication: good governance, human development and mass communication Pippa Norris; 7. Local political communication: media and local publics in the age of globalization Sabine Lang; 8. Strategic political communication: mobilizing public opinion in 'audience democracies' Hanspeter Kriesi; 9. Political campaign communication: conditional convergence of modern media elections Christina Holtz-Bacha; 10. Political communication and electronic democracy: American exceptionalism or global trend? Thomas Zittel; 11. Political news journalists: partisanship, professionalism, and political roles in five countries Wolfgang Donsbach and Thomas Patterson; 12. Political communication messages: pictures of our world on international television news Patrick Rössler; 13. Political communication effects: the impact of mass media and interpersonal conversations on voting Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck; Part III. Perspectives and Challenges: 14. State of the art in comparative political communication research: poised for maturity? Michael Gurevitch and Jay G. Blumler; 15. From political culture to political communications culture: a theoretical approach to comparative analysis Barbara Pfetsch; 16. Problems of comparative political communication research: culture as a key variable Robert L. Stevenson; 17. Meeting the challenges of global communication and political integration: the significance of comparative research in a changing world Frank Esser and Barbara Pfetsch.